After being pursued through the Shire by mysterious riders in black, Frodo and his friends decide that the safest way for them to continue their journey to Rivendell is to travel through the Old Forest.
Setup: Set Old Man Willow and Withywindle aside, out of play. Each player searches the encounter deck and adds 1 different location to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
When Revealed: Each player draws 1 card. Advance to a random stage 2A.
"You have left the Shire, and are now outside, and on the edge of the Old Forest." –Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
"Everything in it is very much more alive, more aware of what is going on, so to speak, than things are in the Shire. And the trees do not like strangers."
–Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: If the number of locations in the staging area is less than the number of players in the game, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a location and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Forced: At the beginning of the planning phase, each player must exhaust a hero he controls.
Forced: After placing progress as a result of questing successfully, if there are X or more total victory points on locations in the victory display, advance to stage 3A. Otherwise, advance to a different random stage 2A. X is the number of players in the game times 5.
"Everything in it is very much more alive, more aware of what is going on, so to speak, than things are in the Shire. And the trees do not like strangers."
–Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: If the number of locations in the staging area is less than the number of players in the game, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a location and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Forced: At the beginning of the ropund, remove all progress from each location in play.
Forced: After placing progress as a result of questing successfully, if there are X or more total victory points on locations in the victory display, advance to stage 3A. Otherwise, advance to a different random stage 2A. X is the number of players in the game times 5.
"Everything in it is very much more alive, more aware of what is going on, so to speak, than things are in the Shire. And the trees do not like strangers."
–Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: If the number of locations in the staging area is less than the number of players in the game, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a location and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Forced: At the end of the round, discard a random location from the victory display.
Forced: After placing progress as a result of questing successfully, if there are X or more total victory points on locations in the victory display, advance to stage 3A. Otherwise, advance to a different random stage 2A. X is the number of players in the game times 5.
"Everything in it is very much more alive, more aware of what is going on, so to speak, than things are in the Shire. And the trees do not like strangers."
–Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: If the number of locations in the staging area is less than the number of players in the game, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a location and add it to the staging area. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Forced: The first player reveals 1 additional encounter card during the quest phase.
Forced: After placing progress as a result of questing successfully, if there are X or more total victory points on locations in the victory display, advance to stage 3A. Otherwise, advance to a different random stage 2A. X is the number of players in the game times 5.
He lifted his heavy eyes and saw leaning over him a huge willow-tree, old and hoary. Enormous it looked, its sprawling branches going up like reaching arms with many long-fingered hands...
-The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: Add Old Man Willow and Withywindle to the staging area. Reveal X encounter cards where X is the number of players in the game minus 1.
Old Man Willow cannot leave the staging area but is considered to be engaged with each player and attacks each player in turn order during the combat phase (deal and resolve a shadow card for each attack).
If the players defeat this stage, they win the game.
5
4
12
Indestructible. Immune to player card effects.
Forced: When Old Man Willow attacks, discard a random location from the victory display. The defending player raises his threat by X, where X is that location's victory point value.
4
2
6
While Long Trailer is in the staging area it gains:"Forced: After the active location leaves play as an explored location, Long Trailer makes an immediate attack against the first player."
"Occasionally the most unfriendly ones may drop a branch, or stick a root out, or grasp at you with a long trailer." –Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
3
3
5
Forced: After Grasping Root engages a player, that player must assign X damage among characters he controls. X is the number of locations in the victory display.
...a great tree–root seemed to be over him and holding him down... –The Fellowship of the Ring
1
0
2
Forced: After Army of Flies engages a player, that player discards a non-objective attachment he controls.
Shadow: Defending player discards a non-objective attachment he controls.
Immune to player card effects.
The player cannot win the game while Withywindle is in play.
While Withywindle is the active location, the first player reveals 1 additional encounter card during the quest phase.
"The Withywindle valley is said to be the queerest part of the whole wood..." –Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
When faced with the option to travel, the players must travel to Misleading Path if there is no active location.
Shadow: Defending player discards each ally card in his hand.
While Deep Gulley is in the staging area, it gains :"Forced: After a player optionally engages an enemy, that player raises his threat by X, where X is the engaged enemy's
Each time they clambered out, the trees seemed deeper and darker... –The Fellowship of the Ring
While Strange Woods is in the staging area, characters cannot be healed.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 If this attack destroys a character, raise each player's threat by 2.
X equals the number of players in the game.
While Wall of Trees is in the staging area, progress must be placed on Wall of Trees before it can be placed on the current quest.
The trees drew close again on either side, and they could no longer see far ahead. –The Fellowship of the Ring
While Oppressive Forest is in the staging area, each player cannot play more than 1 card each round.
Shadow: If there are no locations in the staging area, add this location to the staging area.
When Revealed: Choose a location in the victory display and return it to the staging area. If no location was returned to the staging area this way, Swaying Without Wind gains surge.
"...the branches swayed and groped without any wind."
–Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: Each player removes a character he controls from the quest and deals 2 damage to that character (3 damage instead if that character is an ally).
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 (+2 instead if the defending character is an ally.)
When Revealed: Discard all progress from each location in the staging area. If there is a non-unique active location, randomly choose a location in the staging area and switch it with the active location.
But Frodo, without any clear idea of why he did so, our what he hoped for, ran along the path crying help! help! help! –The Fellowship of the Ring
When Revealed: At the end of the phase, raise each player's threat by X where X is the number of enemies in the staging area.
Shadow: Return attacking enemy to the staging area after this attack.
3
3
6
When Revealed: Choose a player. That player gains control of Tom Bombadil, ready and committed to the quest. At the end of the round, discard Tom Bombadil. Then Shuffle the encounter discard pile into the encounter deck. This effect cannot be canceled.
"Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!"
–Tom Bombadil, The Fellowship of the Ring
You are playing Campaign Mode.
Setup: The first player attaches Old Bogey-stories to a hero in play.
It was not called the Old Forest without reason, for it was indeed ancient, a survivor of vast forgotten woods; and in it there lived yet, ageing no quicker than the hills, the fathers of the fathers of trees, remembering times when they were lords. The countless years had filled them with pride and rooted wisdom, and with malice. –The Fellowship of the Ring
Resolution: If there are at least 12 damage tokens on Old Man Willow, the players have earned the Old Bogey-Stories boon card.
Tom Bombadil burst out laughing, "Well, my little fellows!" said he, stooping so that he peered into their faces. "You shall come home with me! The table is all laden with yellow cream, honeycomb, and white bread and butter. Goldberry is waiting. Time enough for questions around the supper table. You follow after me as quick as you are able!" With that he picked up his lilies, and then with a beckoning wave of his hand went hopping and dancing along the path eastward, still singing loudly and nonsensically.
–The Fellowship of the Ring